Magnetized ICF implosions: Non-axial magnetic field topologies

C. A. Walsh; D. J. Strozzi; A. Povilus; S. T. O'Neill; L. Leal; B. Pollock; H. Sio; B. Z. Djordjevic; J. P. Chittenden; J. D. Moody

arXiv · 2411.10538

Magnetized ICF implosions: Non-axial magnetic field topologies

C. A. Walsh·D. J. Strozzi·A. Povilus·S. T. O'Neill·L. Leal·B. Pollock·H. Sio·B. Z. Djordjevic·J. P. Chittenden·J. D. Moody

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Abstract

This paper explores 4 different magnetic field topologies for application to spherical inertial confinement fusion implosions: axial, mirror, cusp and closed field lines. A mirror field is found to enhance the impact of magnetization over an axial field; this is because the mirror field more closely follows the hot-spot surface. A cusp field, while simple to generate, is not found to have any benefits over the tried-and-tested axial field. Closed field lines are found to be of the greatest benefit to hot-spot performance, with the simulated design undergoing a 2x increase in ion temperature before alpha-heating is considered. The plasma properties of the simulation with closed field lines are radically different from the unmagnetized counterpart, with electron temperatures in excess of 100 keV, suggesting that a fundamental redesign of the capsule implosion is possible if this method is pursued.

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C. A. Walsh, D. J. Strozzi, A. Povilus, S. T. O'Neill, L. Leal, B. Pollock, H. Sio, B. Z. Djordjevic, J. P. Chittenden, J. D. Moody. 2024-11-15. Magnetized ICF implosions: Non-axial magnetic field topologies. https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.10538

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